Ask most people when the best time is to buy a new car and the response will be December. It’s fairly well known that manufacturers will offer end of year incentives to bolster sales. It is less well known that there are extra incentives to bring down the price of most new cars in August.

In fact, we help clients buy and lease almost as many vehicles in August than we do in December. Why would this be? There are a few reasons why August is a popular month for new car purchases, from model year end deals to back to school shopping. We’ll look at each of these in turn:

Back to school

For many parents, back to school means back to carpool duty and soccer practice. As kids get bigger, it can make sense to invest in a larger vehicle that will fit them comfortably. Often a vehicle with a third row of seats can make a lot of sense for growing families.

Other parents may decide to invest in a safe, reliable vehicle for their teenage driver or college-bound offspring. Top priorities can also include fuel economy, hands free texting, and crash avoidance systems.

Either way, this makes August a peak time for family car buying. Luckily, it's also a time when manufacturers and dealerships can be motivated by the model year end change to move their existing inventory.

Model year end

While the new model year traditionally starts in October, many brands release new models throughout the year. By late summer, manufacturers are ready to clear out their 2016 models in advance of the 2017 arrivals—and are willing to offer discounts and incentives on 2016 vehicles to make this happen.

Buying or leasing in August allows you to take advantage of these specials while there is still decent availability of popular 2016 models. As always, Cartelligent can help you take advantage of all manufacturers' incentives to ensure you get a great deal on your new car.

New model availability

The majority of the new 2017 models are not in dealerships by August, but the window for special orders is often open. If you have your heart set on being the first on the block to drive the latest model, placing your order in August can be critical to making that happen. Special ordering allows you to customize your new car exactly the way you want, choosing the colors and options you want without paying for additional features you don't need.